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Update: 67-year-old man drove into parked truck on side of I-81 north in Sandy Creek

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Traffic has reopened on I-81 north. State police had closed part of the highway, between the Pulaski and Sandy Creek exits after a car crashed into a parked tractor-trailer.
(Gary Walts | gwalts@syracuse.com)

Sandy Creek, NY -- State police are still trying to determine why a 67-year-old man drove into a large truck parked on the east shoulder of Interstate 81 north Monday afternoon in Sandy Creek.

A 62-year-old man from Texas told state police he parked his truck on the shoulder of I-81 north, just south of the Sandy Creek exit, to check equipment on another truck he was towing, said Trooper Michael Mierek, of the Pulaski barracks.

The Texas man was standing outside the vehicle -- on the passenger's side, on the east shoulder of the 65 mph highway -- when the crash happened around 2:30 p.m. Monday. The man who had parked his truck was not injured, Mierek said.

The 67-year-old driver was injured when his car struck front of the vehicle being towed, which was facing south, Mierek said. The driver's name and address are not expected to be released Monday night, troopers said.

A LifeNet helicopter flew the injured man to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. He suffered possible internal injuries and a possible broken leg, and is expected to survive, Mierek said.

Alcohol was not a contributing factor in the crash, however the accident remains under investigation, troopers said. State police and Pulaski volunteer firefighters closed I-81 north between the Pulaski and Sandy Creek exits for several hours after the crash. The highway reopened around 6:30 p.m.